Order Official Birth Records for Personal or Genealogical Purposes

NEW YORK - June 9, 2013 - PRLog -- Official birth records can be ordered from the state Vital Records Office. To guard against identity theft, access to this information for living persons is restricted to the following persons:

•   The individual named on the birth certificate, if he or she is 18 years of age or older
•   The parents shown on the record
•   The individual's legal guardian
•   A legal representative acting on behalf of the child

Request Public Birth Records at http://gov-record.org/birth-records/

If the birth record is being requested by a legal representative or a legal guardian, the state may require written evidence of legal guardianship or legal representation before the record will be released.

Birth Records for Genealogical Purposes

Uncertified copies of birth records may be ordered by genealogical researchers. It is a short form that includes a summary of the information contained on the birth certificate prepared by the hospital. It may include parent information in some cases.

Information Required to Order a Birth Record

When ordering a birth record, the following information is required:

•   Child's full name at birth
•   Date of birth
•   City and county where birth occurred
•   Name of hospital where birth occurred (if known)
•   Name of parents shown on the record, including the mother's maiden name
•   
Requests for a birth record must be accompanied by a legible copy of a government-issued photo ID.

Ordering a Birth Record for Passport Purposes

A birth record can be used to provide proof of citizenship for a person who wishes to apply for a passport. It may also be used instead of a passport when making short trips to certain countries. Someone who is planning to go abroad should plan ahead to receive his or her birth record well before the date of departure.

Birth records can be ordered in person by visiting a Vital Records Office. The person making the request will be required to produce a valid form of photo ID. Same-day service may not be available and the requestor may have to wait to have the record forwarded by return mail.

Mail orders are accepted by government offices. The person making the request can expect that it will take several weeks for his or her order to be processed and sent back by first-class mail. Each request for a birth certificate must be accompanied by a non-refundable search fee. This amount is collected to compensate for the time spent looking for the record, even if the information provided is incomplete or incorrect.

When birth records are needed in a timely manner for personal or genealogical research purposes, the best course of action is to request the information from a commercial website specializing in providing this information. They can access the records from a database quickly and efficiently. The requested birth record is forwarded directly to the requestor's e-mail account without delay. There is no risk that it will be lost or delayed in the mail. This is the way to access vital records in the 21st century.

Reliable resource:

http://gov-record.org/